Into Temptation (A More Than Men Novella) Read Free Page B

tossing through sleepless nights and waking in cold sweats.
    The problem was that the evidence was severely lacking. It was all circumstantial, and the defense had already managed to suppress a key piece of physical evidence based on a screwup with the chain of custody. How they’d discovered the error, Evie would never know. Hell, she hadn’t even known until the motion had come before the judge.
    So far, nothing had gone their way. She seriously needed a break. Jury selection would start on Monday, and opening statements could begin then as well. At the moment she didn’t have much of a case to present.
    She knew Monroe Stilton was guilty. Hell, everyone in the police department and prosecutors’ office knew, but unfortunately gut feeling wasn’t admissible in court.
    At one point her boss had asked if she was too close to the case to be objective. He tried to tell her they couldn’t win them all. It was entirely possible he was right.
    Some of the victims had been Megan’s age. Young girls and boys who’d had their lives shattered. Unfortunately none of them had seen their attacker’s face. Unlike most molesters, Monroe was patient and careful.
    He waited until that one precious moment when everyone was looking away to snatch kids. He kept them only for a few hours and then released them. In several cases the authorities hadn’t even had time to organize a full search before the child was found again.
    But those few hours were long enough to inflict so much damage.
    Slipping out of the subway station and up onto the sidewalk a couple of blocks from her apartment, Evie rubbed at her gritty eyes again.
    It was late and her brain was fried, but she couldn’t stop the wheels from turning, trying to find the single piece of information that would unlock everything. It had to be there, because Monroe Stilton was guilty as hell.
    What kept her up at night was the realization that if she couldn’t win this case, he was going to hurt again. It might not be Megan, but it would be someone else’s son or daughter. And Evie wasn’t sure she could live with that.
    A few feet from the brightly lit station, damp darkness settled around Evie. The sound of her heels echoed eerily against the soaring brick that surrounded her on all sides. On the train there’d been a few people, but now she was utterly alone. Maybe she should have taken a cab like Melody suggested, but she’d hated to spend the money.
    It was only a block and a half to her building. She had a gun and knew how to use it. Slipping her hand inside her purse, Evie wrapped her palm around the smooth butt. Just in case.
    An uncomfortable sensation slithered down the back of her neck. The tiny hairs stood on end. Hunching her shoulders to make it go away, Evie darted a glance around her. There was no one. No threat, just the elongated shadow cast from the streetlamp behind her.
    She was imagining monsters where there weren’t any. Occupational hazard when you spent all day studying criminals and the aftermath of the crime scenes they created.
    Her apartment building was less than a block away. She could see the big green door looming just ahead. Safety. Sanctuary. Her steps sped up. She was almost home free.
    And then a huge, hulking man materialized out of nowhere. She was alone…and then he was there, filling half the sidewalk and blocking her path.
    Everything was in shadow, but even if she couldn’t see him clearly, there was something familiar about him. The way he stood, straight shoulders, hips widened in a stance that grounded him to the earth. The arrogant tilt to his head.
    The burn of panic that had shot through her stomach like acid dissolved. Her brain hadn’t told her body she was safe, but apparently it wasn’t waiting for the all clear. Her shoulders sagged, losing their tension even as her steps faltered.
    And then he stepped out of the shadows and into the light.
    “You,” she breathed out, wary caution finally kicking back in. Inside her